At the beginning of the offseason, three of the biggest names in football were available for head coaching positions. Bill Belichick was fired by the New England Patriots. So too was Pete Carroll canned by the Seattle Seahawks. While Mike Vrabel was shown the door by the Tennessee Titans. Belichick is in the argument as the GOAT of NFL coaches. Carroll went to two Super Bowls, winning one. And then Vrabel was a big NFL odds winner for most of his time at Tennessee. Incredibly enough, all three were shutout of the 2024 coaching cycle.
2024 NFL Future Odds
| Dates: | Season Starts September 5, 2024, Super Bowl LIX is on February 9, 2025 |
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It’s a Young Man’s Game of Collaboration
Specifically, there is a changing of the guard in the NFL with a strong trend toward younger coaches who are perceived to relate better to today’s players. Also, owners do not want a Belichick-style dictator. Instead, the owners want a collaborative process with several team officials involved in decisions. Whether or not that is a sustainable approach remains to be seen.
Jim Harbaugh Charges It
The Los Angeles Chargers hold the distinction of being the only NFL team in history that transferred to another city that never wanted them. Accordingly, Charger home games usually resemble college football bowl games; Visiting team fans take over the stadium. Additionally, the Chargers have not been consistent contenders during their time in LA. All of that is expected to change immediately. Cause of the hiring of Jim Harbaugh from the Michigan Wolverines.
Harbaugh is coming off a national championship season with the Michigan Wolverines. Most important of all he has won wherever he has gone. Harbaugh may be the most transformational sportsbook figure arriving in Los Angeles since Wayne Gretzky arrived to the NHL Los Angeles Kings in 1988.
First on the list of Harbaugh’s tasks is getting star QB Justin Herbert a strong supporting cast the plays fundamentally sound football. The Chargers talent pool is indeed rated high. But it has underachieved. Harbaugh will give the football players and the franchise itself the lightning bolt that is desperately needed for relevance.
The GOAT Dropped for His Assistant
It was not a surprise that Bill Belichick was fired by the New England Patriots. He was terrible at personnel decisions and was dumbfounded without GOAT QB Tom Brady. But if you are going to fire a 6-time Super Bowl champion are you going to replace him with his inside linebacker coach?
For the Love of Pete Seahawks Hire a Fledgling
The Seattle Seahawks replaced Pete Carroll, age 72, with Mike Macdonald, age 36, now the youngest coach in the NFL. If there is a team that epitomized the new wave of NFL betting odds coaching trends, it is Seattle. But before anyone writes off Macdonald it is important to check a sterling resume that includes success as the defensive coordinator of the Michigan Wolverines and Baltimore Ravens.
Callahan Brings Innovation to Tennessee
Brian Callahan may prove to be the most quietly successful hire of this coaching carousel cycle. Callahan was the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals from 2019-2023. Consider his quick tutelage of QB Joe Burrow and the Bengals 2022 AFC title. Callahan is expected to update Vrabel’s old-school offense to something more sophisticated.